European Championships: O'Donovan brothers take Lightweight Double Sculls silver medal

Paul (front) and Gary O'Donovan were unable to defend their 2016 European title

Ireland's Paul and Gary O'Donovan held off a storming finish by Italy to win Lightweight Double Sculls silver at the European Championships in Glasgow.

Gold medal winners Kristoffer Brun and Are Strandli of Norway finished two seconds clear of the Irish brothers.

The 2016 Olympic runners up once again had to settle for the second step of the podium after a titanic battle with Italy over the closing 500 metres.

Italy had to settle for bronze with Belgium in fourth place.

Italy's Stefano Oppo and Pietro Ruta set a blistering pace from the start as they attempted to unsettle the O'Donovans, who traditionally are slow out of the blocks.

The Skibbereen brothers were down in fourth place after the opening 500 metres and Norway took advantage of the fast pace to power into the lead at the halfway stage.

The O'Donovan pair, who won European gold in 2016, showed their strength as they began to work their way through the field but were unable to eat into the Norwegian advantage as they held their momentum to win in six minutes 20.85 seconds.

The Irish boat were forced to hold off a late sprint by Italy to win their head-to-head battle for second place - crossing the line less than half a second ahead of the Italians in 6:22.84.

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